It’s easy to forget just how powerful the British passport is. With that little book, we can enter nearly 200 other countries without the need for a visa. That’s a lot more that can be said for other passports around the world. Still, the number of places that Brits can freely access has depleted over the years, and that little navy (or burgundy) book is actually far less powerful that it was a decade ago.
Four times each year, the Henley Passport Index from Henley & Partners ranks 199 of the world’s passports based on how easily their holders can travel. And in the latest ranking, published on October 14, the British and Northern Irish passport has slipped to it’s lowest place ever.
With visa-free access to 184 countries, the United Kingdom now ranks eighth in the world alongside Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates. That’s two spots down since the index was last published in July, when Brits had access to 186 countries and six positions down since last year. Our passports still grant us a lot of privilege when travelling the world, but gone are the glory days when the British passport ranked first for three years in a row (from 2013-2015).
Our passport isn’t the only one to hit a record low, though. The US has dropped out of the top 10 for the very first time and is now in 12th place next to Malaysia. That’s a major tumble compared to its 2024 rank in seventh place and an even bigger fall compared to the number one spot it held in 2014.
The index put the drop down to a number of factors, including the loss of visa-free access to Brazil in April due to a lack of reciprocity, exclusion from China and Vietnam’s visa-free lists and the launch of a new e-visa system in Somalia. Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners and creator of the Henley Passport Index, said: ‘Nations that embrace openness and cooperation are surging ahead, while those resting on past privilege are being left behind.’
The top three spots in the ranking are held by the ‘Asian trifecta’ Singapore (with visa-free access to 193 nations), South Korea (190) and Japan (189). The Afghanistan passport is still at the bottom of the index, with visa-free access to just 26 countries.
The Henley Passport Index top 10 strongest passports in the world, October 2025
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Japan
- Germany; Italy; Luxembourg; Spain; Switzerland;
- Austria; Belgium; Denmark; Finland; France; Ireland; Netherlands
- Greece; Hungary; New Zealand; Norway; Portugal; Sweden
- Australia; Czechia; Malta; Poland
- United Kingdom, Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates
- Canada
- Latvia
You can find out more about this year’s top passports on Time Out here.
ICYMI: The full list of UK travellers that are NOT affected by new EU border rules.
Plus: Brits no longer have to pay to visit beautiful south Asian country.
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